WASHINGTON — About 15,000 veterans would be eligible
for expanded disability compensation because of exposure to
contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, NC, between August 1953 and December
of 1987, change to: according to the VA.
It might be a while before a program is in place, however.
VA announced in December that it will propose a presumption of
service connection related to Camp Lejeune for the following conditions:
- Kidney Cancer
- Liver Cancer
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Leukemia
- Multiple Myeloma
- Scleroderma
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Aplastic Anemia/Myelodysplastic Syndromes
This is expected to ease the process for veterans to receive
benefits, because it will be presumed that the listed condition was
caused by military service.
“The water at Camp Lejeune was a hidden hazard, and it is only years
later that we know how dangerous it was,” VA Secretary Robert McDonald
said in a recent statement.
VA’s proposal would also expand benefits eligibility to Reserve and
National Guard personnel who served at Camp Lejeune for any length of
time from August 1, 1953, through December 31, 1987.
“The VA is finally granting some justice to veterans who were exposed
to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Camp Lejeune,” Sen.
Thom Tillis (R-NC) said after VA’s announcement.
“This is victory for those who have long suffered as a result of the
toxic exposure to chemicals while serving our country at Camp Lejeune,”
added Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC).
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